26 weeks Extended Vacation

Things have been a bit disorganized these last few weeks. A pipe burst in our house so the girls and I have been and will be down in Encinitas while our house is being put back together. Justin is also working the next 14 days straight, so we won't get to see him for while unfortunately. Reese is still happy, though I think she misses her jumperoo. We are very fortunate to have a place to stay with family next door.

She's starting to stand with assistance for short periods of time, has to build up those muscles to support her 20+ lbs of chubby squishiness! Still no teeth, but she is starting to notice/protest when I'm not around. Lucky for her she's pretty much stuck with me for the next 2 weeks straight. 

I went jogging with both girls and the dog this morning (we walk uphill, stroller is about 100lbs with the girls). It'll be nice to actually jog more often with them once it cools down back home. 

My Squish 

LOVES Oso, always laughing and trying to grab him

I actually was not trying to match them, but Rae insisted on wearing her polka dot pants when she saw Reese in them, and then she wanted to get in the crib with her too. I think she misses being the baby. 

Wheeeeeee 

This is what Reese does during bath time for Rae. I put her in the tub with Rae for a few minutes (forgot her infant tub), but she kept sliding and floating away, she's very bouyant. 

Very serious about her first time in a high chair

Sunbathing at the Zoo

I haven't introduced solids yet, but she wanted this watermelon sooo bad.
She just licked and slobbered all over it, but it made her stop swinging at me
 & crying in protest when I was trying to eat it.

5 Months (23 weeks) Rolling, Sitting & More

Reese has been BUSY these last 2 weeks. Just before she hit 5 months, she started rolling over front to back, and then the next day back to front, then the next day she was sitting up unassisted for short periods of time. I was a bit worried that she wasn't moving too much yet, but she has definitely made up for that. 

I moved her to her crib for all naps/night time sleep now. She was in there for her most of her naps, but now that she is more alert I think she sleeps better in her own room w/o us coming and going. It made me a little sad to move her, I like to peek in on her when I'm in bed. She still doing pretty well sleeping. We still have 3/4 short naps a day (30-45 min) and she usually sleeps 9 to 11 hrs at night, with possibly one wake up. She'll a little harder to get down for the night, which is think is due to all the new movement, teething and awareness. 

Right now she grabs at any and everything, so it's been a challenge to hold her and get other things done. She wanted to play with a bag shredded cheese I was using for cooking so badly, kept grabbing for it & got very mad when I wouldn't let her have it. Same goes for any beverage that I am drinking, she smashes her face against the cup/glass and starts licking it and chewing on the rim. It's pretty funny until you are actually trying to drink something and she keeps batting at it. She's also pretty tough, Rae has given her a few shoves and yelled at her a couple times (usually because Reese has a handful of Rae's hair or clothes) and she smiles & laughs; the only thing that makes her startle & cry are loud unexpected noises (like Rae throwing a large plastic toy on the floor).

Still no teeth, I hope a few come in soon. She definitely has been in pain for shortish periods each day. She chomps away on her fingers & screams. She's also started chewing & sucking on her thumb. I think it's more of a teething thing vs a pacifying habit.

Rolling around, this mat is getting to small, I'm going to have to set up a larger roll zone for her.
Oso isn't really careful about not stepping on little people so I have to gate him off

Teething is not fun.

Happy Girl, she likes to "fly" on my shins

Chewing her thumb

Her focused face

So happy when I let her chew on my smoothie cup

Sitting up & trying to play with Rae, Rae was not happy Reese kept grabbing at her toys

Some inside a/c time after morning fun at the starbucks fountain area. Both get flushed red cheeks when they are hot.

21 weeks - Naps

The last few weeks have been a little rougher for Reese. She's very alert and checking out everything around her, which has resulted in poor naps (very short) and even some night wakings (gasp I am spoiled no more). Hopefully she'll work through everything soon and get back to a least sleeping solidly at night. She's never really bed a great napper, but getting her down on the first attempt would make Raegan & myself happy. Short naps actually may work in my favor as long as she doesn't get super tired. Makes it way easier to go and do things, she can just take a quick 20 minute nap in the car or carrier while we are out and about.

Arm flapping is one of her new favorite things to do. She looks like she is trying to fly away ha. She's also touching grabbing at anything with in reach, I have had my hair pulled too many times to count. her grip is very strong, it usually takes me 15 seconds or so to pry my hair out of her fist...she thinks this  is hilarious. Sitting outside in the evening seems to be the easiest way to calm her down if she's fussy. She also likes to go run errands, I pop her in the carrier and she just takes everything in, never cries. Makes errands soo much easier :)

I took Raegan to see her first movie on Thursday morning with some moms from stroller strides & their kiddos. Reese did incredibly well, she slept in the carrier for half the movie and when she woke up, I took her out and played with her on my lap. I was worried that she'd be overstimulated by all the kids and the loud movie, but it wasn't a problem for her.

Im not sure if she wants to roll over, she still has yet to, but I know she is strong enough. She's starting to sit up alone for short periods of time before she topples over. I'm trying to give her as much floor roll time as possible to get her rolling, she's got to do it sometime.

Happy watching her sister play with legos

Arm rolls

Ahh sleeping baby :)

Nudie

Peek a Boo

19 Weeks Raspberries & Toes

Reese has some newly acquired skills! She can now blow raspberries and spit bubbles at the same time, she actually does it pretty much all day. And the first thing she does when I lay her on her back is grab both feet and smile. Sometimes she manages to get a toe or two in her mouth. 

She is all chub right now, not rolling over yet but close. Her 4 month appointment was a few days ago, she was 18lbs & 26 inches, not as big as Rae was at this age but she's still in the mid 90th percentile for both.

We went to Cardiff last weekend & this weekend. I had a bit of trouble getting her to nap, too many new things to see I guess. She still slept great at night though thankfully, Raegan is a different story caught her jumping on her bed several times PJ's were not on either, but the lights were...hmmmm.

I need to come up with some more fun activities inside that both girls can be amused by. We get out of the house once a day, but are usually at home & inside in the afternoon, due to naps & the heat etc. Time to get creative! 

Loving the jumperoo, this is my go to if I need a free set of hands and she is fussy
...usually for dinner & if I am not ready to leave the house before the girls wake up. 

Constant bubbles & drool, lots of outfit changes right now

Check out those arms rolls 

Almost all the way over, but she gets stuck on her arm & just hangs out there. 

Snugglers

I would not be surprised if some teeth broke through in the next few weeks.

Loves chewing on her toes, so funny

Reese at 4+ months, Rae at 3.5 months below...pretty similar, Reese is a little darker, but they are definitely sisters.

16 weeks I think

We are chugging along here, it's already hot 105 today :( I don't want to wish time away but I'd really like it to be October so we can go outside & play more. Reese seems to be like me, she doesn't like being hot & she sweats easily. There is usually a sweat silhouette in her car seat when I take her out after running errands, even with the a/c on. She's a bit of a cat napper during the day right now (30 - 45 min), but she goes down pretty easily and she sleeps 11 hrs at night :) Right now she's working hard on rolling over, she's getting really close but it not quite sure what to do with her arm on her roll side. I'm sure in a week or 2 she'll have it. Hopefully that doesn't translate into night wakings..I did with Rae.

Justin starts his second year of residency which will consist of leaving the house at 4:30 am, hopefully home by 8pm so he can see the girls...then he'll read for 2 hrs and go to sleep. 2 weekends off a month thats it. Poor guy it's going to be a rough year. We are going to have to maximize vacation time!

Roll time with Mr. Fish, she hugs him, bites his face then throws him...probably not on purpose.

Rae is trying to show Reese who's boss here.
 She kept holding her arms down and tell her to keep them there very sternly. Reese was amused. 

Buddies again

14 Weeks Getting Organized

I'm starting to develop a pattern that seems to work for me with the girls. They usually are both asleep by 9pm. So I have been running with Oso (very nice "me time" to decompress & hear myself think) at 9ish after I get them down when Justin is at home. When I get back I get the basics done ie laundry/dishes/toy pick up and a quick shower. If we are feeling like we can squeeze it in Justin & I will watch an episode of Lost on Netflix, yes we are about 8 years late on this, but we are addicted and its a nice escape from reality for both of us. I'm usually asleep by 11 ish.  Mornings the girls are up around 7:30/8 sometimes Reese goes right back to sleep after I feed her which gives me some time to get breakfast in Rae and get organized for the day. I "usually" try to get up before Rae to get myself ready. I've found it is sooo much harder & takes much longer once the girls are up, I kick myself every time I don't get up when my alarm goes off at 6:15. I've been writing out our daily schedule weekly, whether its playgroup, errands, the park, stroller strides or something else, I always seem to be more efficient and on top of things if I know what I'm doing on a certain day before I actually wake up. Next up on the efficiency/organization situation is bath times & bedtimes. Right now Justin has been home in the evening to help me. July & on he will not be home early enough to help. I'm not as worried about bedtime, its just easier when he's home and the girls aren't rushed through the routine. Bathtime is a bit of an issue though. Rae likes to splash & poor water everywhere when I try to bath Reese, so I have to do it when she is asleep but that's also when Reese takes her long nap, so Reese has been getting lots of washcloth baths instead of in the actual tub. Rae's bathtime is hard  because she is all over the place splashing, jumping in the tub etc, so I need both hands for about 20 minutes to contain her. She also likes to streak around the house after her bath and yell "nudie" ...and is not potty trained yet so I need to keep a close eye on her. Its funny but makes things a little more difficult.

Reese is still doing great, she's been a bit fussier the last few days. Seems like she is teething, but it'd be very surprising to me if she actually got teeth this early. I think Raegan got her first 2 at 5 months.  Raegan is starting to enjoy having Reese as a little sister. She tries to hold her hand and interact with her now. She gets very impressed with herself when she can make her smile & laugh. She has thrown a few things at her too and swatted at her, but thats the phase we appear to be in right now.

I get this face a lot from Rae ha. 

Giving the stare down

Tummy Time, she's not rolling yet, but is definitely getting stronger.
She'll prop herself up in mini pushup position for several minutes and just look around. 

We pulled out the jumperoo. Reese seems to like it, hangs out and smiles at the animals.
Rae likes to add the element of surprise, she suddenly & vigorously shakes the jumper, which scares Reese and she cries. Gentle is not something Rae has figured out. 

One of Reese's favorite items to chew on.

She fell asleep this way, it was one of those days.

Sweet baby girl. She's got some lashes.

Reese & Evie from playgroup. Born 3 days apart.

Mat time. Rae really likes to play with her on this. Still shakes it from time to time.

Another new baby container/toy. Rae again "helps" Reese with her new chair and smacks the spinning toy
...again making her cry. I'm seeing a trend here.

Love the feet! 

After dinner we all go outside for some fresh air. Reese loves laying on my legs and staring at the trees.
Rae and Oso run laps around the yard.